Friday, April 27, 2007

So much easier to Knit (Spider Queen 2nd repeat)

Ok, so I snuck in a picture of spinning. But I'm spinning laceweight so I figured it was still "Ok" for the blog. Just a short post to show progress on spinning laceweight merino from Lisa Sousa in "Petroglyph"colorway. I only have 4 ounces of the stuff so I plan to ply with BFL in the same colorway. The Shetland Tea Shawl is taking shape. This is made out of yarn that I spun after not spinning for a long long time. It's not the best or the most even yarn I've ever made but it will make a nice rustic shawl and I like the color changes in this circular shawl. Depending on how much yarn I have left, I may put in another lace pattern in the end before attaching the edging. Spider Queen is knitting up nicely and I tried to get a close-up shot that shows some of the color variation but I'm not sure if you can see it well or not. It's been so stress-free to knit that I'm afraid I have not worked on the WRS at all (still on row 17 of border) but I will work on it during the weekend. Other than Laritza, and Sharon Miller, has anyone else finished this shawl out of the 350 patterns that were sold? I actually don't know. I imagainemissalicefaye will be next to finish of the people I know. I found another person who is close to finishing the border too. "Retirement Knitting Time" is on row 58 of the border. Check her blog out! It's really hot for a change out here so I've been at Home Depot shopping for gardening supplies. Happy Friday!

I'm glad you like how my Spider Queen is coming out. I think it's pretty and sometimes having a shawl you know can take a little abuse when you use it is a good thing. Tomorrow I see my sister-in-law and borrow back all my books on Shetland Lace Knitting so I can come up with an alternative border. From some of the people responding to the blog, it would appear that we are not the only ones who are considering it. As for the beautiful fruits of Japan, all I can say is eat as much of it as you can so you can carry the sweet memory home with you! Enjoy!

Glad you like the spinning.With all the crafting that you do prise from you is high praise indeed! I appreciate it. As you might imagine, it takes me awhile to spin enough to make a large shawl so I don't do alot of it. I am using an "old school" single treadle Schacht castle style wheel that I have owned since I first learned to spin in the '80s. We own three wheels (Lendrum and Majacraft)but I favor my Schacht for spinning laceweight. The fiber is hand-dyed merino wool from Lisa Souza that I got at last years Stitches West and am only now getting around to finishing spinning. Once the 4 ounches are done, I have to spin 4 more to ply. I am open to suggestions as to what project to use it on!

Thank you for the praise but I looked on your blog and you spin really lovely yarn yourself! I just spin thin because lace is my thing. It takes awhile to spin up 4 ounces but I actually enjoy the activity. The best part is making a lace shawl from it that's unique:-)

It really is a pretty pattern and anything is relaxing after knitting on the Wedding Ring Shawl. My sister-in-law has started knitting lace and she made the comment that the yarn she was knitting was just on the border between being uncomfortable to knit with. I realized that knitting with the shetland singles for WRS was "over" that threshold for me into the land of uncomfortable, yet still I knit with it LOL. Am I Masochistic or what? Spider Queen is a lovely respite by comparison!I really think others would enjoy it too.

That line-up of projects you are going to do is getting as long as mine! I'm not complaining mind you. Anyone willing to "bring the pretty" has my vote! And Yes, I will update you all once I finish that yarn. Problem is, I need to spin 4 more ounces after this bobbin to ply and the BFL in what is supposed to be the "same" color-way looks totally different. Dyes do take differently depending on the fiber so now I have to decide if I want to buy more merino or go ahead and ply with the BFL anyway and see what it looks like. Could still be really pretty! In any case I will let everyone know!